I had a plan to keep it simple. Touch on just a few things and then feed her and leave. Did I follow my plan? Nooo. Did things go well as a result? Nooo.
We were out in the field with the herd so I haltered her and, using the 22' featherline, asked her for some canter departs on the circle. Should have quit when I got what I was looking for . . . It went south, but not too far. I flipped the line over her back and asked for some sideways from Z5. Should have quit when I got what I was looking for . . . Back down south again.
I managed to find a stopping point and should have called it quits there. But since things were going "so well" (HA!) online, I decided to play at liberty. Didn't take her long to bolt. Big surprise!
I quit before I got too frustrated. I grabbed the feed bowls and fed Cricket and Etruska.
And since liberty went so well the first time, I decided to try it again (yeah, I know, not too bright!). She was gone in a flash. The session rapidly devolved into Cricket running, totally RB, around the field and me trudging after her Z5 trying to figure out how to salvage the mess.
Finally, in the near dark, she turned to face me. I crouched down, doing my level best to remove pressure but keep facing her. She took awhile to process but finally, with tentative steps, approached. She didn't run when I rubbed her with the stick.
I slipped the string around her neck and walked her to one of the hay piles, driving off another horse in the process. Before allowing her to eat, I asked her for HQ yields as well as backing. Somehow I needed to end on a leadership note. I had the string around her neck but she could have easily pulled it from my hands as I was just holding the two ends together. She didn't. I slipped the string off and played some friendly and some yields. She was right with me, "yes ma'am" and all. When I turned to leave, she came with me, unbidden.
If the day ever comes when I can simply approach my horse, play with her in a non-offensive way and quit when it's all good, I will consider I've finally learned what Cricket has been brought here to teach. At the rate I'm going, she'll live forever. {sigh}
2 comments:
Wow, I've had that same session so many times! You had to know it was coming after all that fabulous liberty stuff you've had me drooling over. ;)
I feel your pain, and offer hugs. It sucks that we're so human...
Seriously, though, it's normal, and we still love you. Cricket, too. ;)
As always, thanks for your support. The list of "what I did to cause all this" is about as long as my arm.
I have decided that "axis point" is code for "bi-polar" or "quad-polar." My ability to bounce around the chart is simply mind-blowing. This whole spotlight think has me going like a pinball, spinning completely RB and then slamming into a LB wall. But at least I'm getting it out of my system now. Right?
I'm lucky C is so stable because even when I go off the deep end, it's not enough to upset her supreme confidence in the way things are.
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